Two notable Dodgers are on the track for a return to the majors, per reports. The club will recall Yasiel Puig at some point this weekend, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. And president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says that peerless lefty Clayton Kershaw will begin a rehab assignment this weekend, as the Times’ Bill Shaikin tweets.

Puig’s return to the majors promises to be an interesting storyline to follow over the coming weeks and beyond. Trade rumors have swirled around Puig for some time as he struggled on the field and was demoted earlier this year.

The Dodgers pulled their enigmatic outfielder back from waivers after he was claimed (with multiple teams reportedly submitting claims), but some still expect he’ll be dealt this winter. FanRag’s Jon Heyman reported (via Twitter) that it was an NL team who won the claim on Puig, and reports have indicated that the White Sox and Orioles made claims of Puig, though they had lower waiver priority than every club in the NL and subsequently didn’t have a chance to swing a deal. Reports have ruled out the Marlins and Braves, and Giants GM Bobby Evans said in a radio appearance with John Middlekauff on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco that his team did not claim Puig (Twitter link).

Regardless of which team it is that was awarded the claim on the mercurial 25-year-old, he’s staying in the only Major League organization he’s ever known. Following his surprising demotion, Puig obliterated Triple-A pitching over 90 plate appearances, slashing .358/.422/.605. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he’ll prove an impactful addition for the NL West-leading Dodgers, and it’s an open question whether Puig will end up on the block at season’s end. If he does, the fact that multiple teams sought to claim him should at the very least indicate that there will be a market for his services.

There’s little question that Kershaw would make for a major addition down the stretch. Remarkably, he still paces all pitchers in fWAR for the season despite not having pitched since late June. Word is that Kershaw may only need a single rehab outing before he is ready to return from his back injury, which suggests he could take the major league hill four times before the regular season wraps up.

I would be lying if i said I wasn’t excited. I think Puig getting sent down could be the wake up call he needs. Adding a hungry Puig and Kershaw down the stretch could be a major boost. Reddick is not a .100 hitter, so I’m looking forward to him starting to hit some more

I agree. Super stoked to get Puig back. I think this whole thing helped him a lot and he could really help us down the stretch here and getting Kersh back is huge plus if Hill can stay healthy we really have a shot and going far. Kersh should be rested and won’t tire out easy in the playoffs not mention we won’t have to face the Cardinals so that helps lol

We will also see whether or not he can hit a MLB fastball and whether he can actually spit on the slider away. His powers pretty much disappeared.

I’m seeing this for what it is, a once or twice a week player, defensive sub, pinch runner. Nothing to get too excited about.
He still hasn’t shown he can hit a ml fb and his power is all but gone. His AAA numbers are not really that impressive considering the competition at this stage in the season. We will see if he’s actually matured.

Maybe you should just watch some of his MiLB games instead of hammering on him without facts.

Moncada has not hit as well R/H for a fact and his power also lags from that side as well. Fact also is that he’s hit 11HR at Portland (AA) in a stadium not offensive friendly over the last 45 games since being promoted.

What stat would impress would be consistency. Look I love Puig. I think his tools are immensely amazing. I honestly give him a free pass up until this year for many reasons. But here is the thing he made adjustments they stuck for a little and disappeared. Amazing series in SD first couple of weeks then the book was out. 15 games after his amazing DL transformation .245/.345/.327. He own 0.5 season war. Let’s be honest as of now he’s average.

He’s a plus defensive player that still struggles on the base paths and at the dish. His speed is really useless as he doesn’t know how to use it. At this point Toles offensively is by far the better option. When Puig was hitting 400 let’s realize the best pitcher he had faced was Trevor Cahill and one decent prospect.

It was never a question of minor league production. He was going to hit because he’s at AAA. He still hasn’t proved he could hit a MLB fb and lay off a hard slider. It’s never been a question of his talent. It’s has been preparation etc.

His skill set is an asset to both the Dodgers and MLB. At what point do you look at the depth chart and realize that guys get it and certain guys don’t?

He has such amazing talent but if an org is willing to send you down as you are playing gg type defense and hitting avg that speaks volumes.

As a fan of a potential playoff rival of the Dodgers, I definitely don’t like this at all. But if I was a Dodger fan, I’d be extremely excited. I think this was the kick in the rear end that this arrogant kid needed. A bit of a humbling experience, a scare, and some tough love. We’ll see how it works out, but I think he’ll come back and tear it up.

Nobody ever called him arrogant. In fact at any given moment in the dugout he is usually engaged an animated conversation with someone. Vin commented on this once saying Puig would talk to a fence post. So no, of his problems, arrogance isn’t one of them.